'Strictly Come Tweeting: Week Ten' (18.11.17)

Tonight saw the much-lauded Blackpool week of this year’s series of Strictly, which couldn’t really help but be a little anti-climactic, much like a trip to Blackpool is generally.

The ballroom was a sight to behold of course, and some of the routines were fun, but it didn’t set me alight as a whole. I particularly liked Jonnie’s tango to the Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams and Davood’s paso to Live and Let Die, but this as much down to the music choices as the routines. This is often the case for me, as I always prefer the dances that naturally fit with the song than those where the connection is a little clunky, like Mollie and Debbie’s were tonight for me; sometimes the routines can be too concept-heavy, which is risky if the concept isn't seamless.

I’m a bit concerned about Debbie not staying tonight, though if that’s the case, I think it will be more to do with the slightly messy idea than her actual dance capability. Hopefully this will be enough to keep her in if she does end up in the dance-off, as she’s such a strong contender with high hopes for making the final if she can keep things up; fingers crossed she stays in.

See below for tonight’s tweets from me:

6:51PM: I look around with the same expression of wonder when I'm in the Sun Hotel Ballroom.

6:54PM: I once took a taxi ride from near London to Blackpool to do a Buddy show because the company manager put diesel in the tour van's unleaded engine.

6:56PM: Bruno bloody loves it.

6:56PM: (No more Robbie Williams please.)

6:58PM: If I go on #Strictly , can I describe myself as an "actor, singer and theatre star" too? It's technically accurate.

7:04PM: AJ's hair = tousled.

7:07PM: Right...set aside an hour or two for Peter Kay now. You may have to cut at least three of the dances.

7:09PM: #Strictly Come Strictly Ballroom Dancing.

7:10PM: Kevin's Paso trousers are also good for wading.

7:13PM: "Like a pressure cooker"; Madonna's first draft.

7:17PM: My first "Oh fuck off, Tess" of the evening.

7:19PM: I know #Strictly @glyndoggett won't be watching yet, but as an owner of the Special Edition of Spiceworld, he'll clearly be ecstatic about Debbie's Spice Girls routine.

7:21PM: Should have done Debbie's Spice Girls routine in the hotel at St Pancras.

7:27PM: Jonnie and Oti have come dressed like the futuristic bit in Blackadder's Christmas Carol.

7:28PM: Sweet Dreams. Cracking song.

7:33PM: The shiny bits of Jonnie and Oti's outfits were made from the tinfoil from thirty-two Kit Kats.

7:37PM: Watch out for the trams, Gemma and Aljaž; didn't you learn anything from Alan Bradley?

7:40PM: Downton, Downton, Downton, Downton, Downton.

7:45PM: Davood's wearing an outfit from one of my deepest, gayest fantasies.

7:46PM: They've borrowed the pyros from Macca's live act for this.

7:48PM: "Stop getting Bond wrong".

7:49PM: Finally...Wings are back on prime-time TV.

7:52PM: They could make a TV game show out of those coin-pusher machines. Oh.

7:54PM: You can't really fail with the classic stuff like that.

8:01PM: That early Nineties piano sound.

8:02PM: But I can't see Joe. I CAN'T SEE HIM.

8:03PM: Joe's so likeable.

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...

Comedy That's Worth a Letch.

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Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

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